Letter sparks calls for inquiry

ELIZABETH THOMPSON; LINDA GUYLAI of The Gazette contributed to this report
Montreal Gazette
Thursday, February 14, 2002

Opposition MPs are calling for an inquiry into allegations of political interference by former Public Works minister Alfonso Gagliano, in the wake of new evidence that Gagliano pressured top managers of a crown corporation to hire his friends and political cronies.

They want the federal government to delay or annul Gagliano's appointment as ambassador to Denmark, saying it would be an insult to the Danish people to send them an ambassador whose reputation is under a cloud in his own country.

Interviews Rebuffed

Meanwhile, the embattled Gagliano refused all requests for interviews yesterday concerning his past activities.

The latest controversy swirling around Gagliano was sparked Tuesday when the lawyer for Michel Couillard, a former vice-president of Canada Lands Co., tabled an explosive letter during sentencing arguments in a breach-of-trust case against Couillard.

In a handwritten, seven-page note written to his boss, Erhard Buchholz, on Oct. 22, 1998, Couillard recounted how Gagliano and his chief of staff, Jean Marc Bard, "strongly suggested" that Canada Lands give jobs or contracts to a list of 10 people close to them and how he was resisting "intense pressure."

Pressure Applied

In a number of cases, Couillard said Gagliano had pressured him to bypass the usual bidding process for contracts to ensure Gagliano's chosen firm got the work.

"The political intervention in our work is very negative and hard to work with," Couillard wrote.

"In the beginning, I tried to accommodate and help but there comes a time and a limit to what one can do; there is a line I can't cross and integrity has to prevail."

Gordon McIvor, spokesman for Canada Lands, said the agency managed to contact Buchholz in Florida, where he has retired.

Buchholz maintains that he does not remember receiving such a note from Couillard.

However, Buchholz did recall Couillard telling him on a number of occasions that he was under pressure from the minister's office, pressure Buchholz said he dealt with.

While he questioned why the letter was introduced in court years after Couillard was suspended and fired by the agency in February 1999, McIvor said he could not say for sure whether the letter was authentic - just that there is no record of it in the agency's files and Buchholz does not think he ever received it.

Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who took over from Gagliano as minister responsible for crown corporations, referred questions to Canada Lands. "I can't even comment on the authenticity of the letter. We'll have to look at it and see."

Thomas Walsh, lawyer for Couillard, said Buchholz asked Couillard to put his concerns down in writing but not to go through his secretary.

He said he introduced the letter during the sentencing hearing because he believes it was at the root of Couillard's dismissal and the subsequent breach-of-trust investigation. "I wanted the judge to know that there was more to this firing than met the eye."

The letter comes a month after former Canada Lands Co. chairman Jon Grant went public with charges that Gagliano pressured him to hire his friend Tony Mignacca and that Bard wanted to be consulted on all contracts handed out in Quebec.